How to Pursue Your Dream of a Real Gallery Show

To be successful in contacting a gallery let’s look at some simple tasks Choose artwork Take good pictures Create special files Know your galleries Create a CV Write an Artist statement    You never know when an opportunity will show up so be ready!   Choose artwork: Take some time and choose 10 unframed works that you believe represent a cohesive art style of what you do. Don’t make yourself crazy with trying to work out if they are your true voice. My experience has shown that an artistic voice will change and grow over time. Take Good Pictures: With the improvements to cell phones allow you to get some great low resolution shots that work with a variety of social media sites. But honestly, you’ll need good images of at least 300 DPI. This is a common request from many galleries. Check out this episode of the SavvyPainter.com podcast hosted by Antrese Wood; Fine Art Prints Q&A, with Jake Hawley from Picture Salon. There is lots of great information about taking pictures. Create Special Folders: Establish what I call a Contact folder. On your computer create a sub folder in File Explorer. Create names that look like this; Contact_Landscape Contact_StillLife You can get as specific as you need to with the name. Now that the end of the year approaches, I tend to add a date; 2019Contact_Floral. It also puts the file at the top of my computer list. Numbers come before letters in the file lists. Once these files are created you can fill them with jpegs of your chosen work Know Your Galleries: When I was the art editor for The Woven Tale Press I would pour over art sites and art magazines looking for inspirational and interesting subjects for a large diverse audience. What it also allowed me to do was research galleries that I thought I would like to contact for exhibits or representation. Over the years I developed a strategy that has been very helpful. If you see an artist that is similar in style to your art, click on their website. Find the gallery websites they are in and click the link.  Providing the art you see is within a familiar concept, go to the contact page and see if they have a submission link. There are thousands of galleries so don’t be disappointed if they do not accept new work. Create a CV: This is a basic listing of your background in art and where you have exhibited or been written about. While this is an older post from thepracticalartworld.com it does a good job of addressing new artists with little to no art references   Write an Artist Statement: This is your opportunity to tell the gallery about your excitement in painting. What inspired the work. Was it influenced by some other artist's style. Is it part of a series. What medium did you use. An Artist statement is an overview of your interpretation of your painting. If you are having trouble with this click here for a site that could help By putting this all together, you'll be ready to contact galleries anywhere Watch for future posts where I will go into more detail of each of these subjects Feel free to contact me with questions and comments at Don@DonaldKolberg.com Subscribe * indicates required Email Address * First Name * Website Art Appreciation Artists Art Lover Imagination is never still. The marks we make are Verbs!

New Works on Paper and Canvas

I am a Painter of Suggestion

I am interested in motion, storytelling, and the sincerity of mark making.  I use the seduction of rhythm and texture to create structures and form. These elements become the basis for emotional bookmarks on the surface of our memories. Because of their fluid nature, our imagination becomes fired by these instances, enhancing a reality we want to know and one we think we’ve seen.

 I am intrigued by the notion that while black is supposed to be the absence of color, its reflective and absorptive surface actually presents a variety of hues. I use different densities of black color derived from hand ground Chinese Ink, carbon, mars and ivory acrylic black and thickened onyx house paint. The resulting matte surfaces and reflections of light mix with the intimacy of the paper to create an endless depth. I mix this with a variety of textures and geometric forms to establish an organic motion. Occasionally I use acrylic reds and golds or gold leaf in the process. The layers in my work are structures and forms of emotions. They are part of our individual consciousness, waiting to be touched and expressed.

"As a painter I explore many different types of mediums and methods in art. Feel free to explore my portfolios" www.donaldkolberg.com

Chinese Ink Painting

These original Chinese Ink Paintings are part of my process for quieting the mind. The past year ended on a tragic and emotionally intense note with the passing of my son. These works are my experiment with creating balance and harmony. I have chosen the depiction of the Red Crown Crane as my subject.

Each one measures 8.5 x 11 inches and they are offered at $150.00 each, unframed

Red Crown Crane #1

Red Crown Crane #2

Red Crown Crane #3

For more information contact me at Don@DonaldKolberg.com

And check out my additional work at Donaldkolberg.com

Spring Anniversary Edition of MM&S is Out

Check us out at monoprint-monotype.com

MM&S: Mono Spring 2017

Monoprint-Monotype.com understands the importance of providing a venue for this unique form of art. Our matrix is as open as the imaginations of the artists it supports. To that end we will explore the work of emerging, established and surprising artists from around the world. They will be…

In the Studio with Cathie Crawford

Enjoy a video with MM&S featured artist Cathie Crawford

Monotypes with Barry Ebner

Enjoy a video with one of MM&S's featured artists

Art, Coffee, Tea and blogs

Founded in 2011, The Public Domain Review is an online journal and not-for-profit project dedicated to the exploration of curious and compelling works from the history of art, literature, and ideas.” Focusing on works that have fallen into the Public Domain this site alternates between collections, essays and a curator’s choice to present a treasure trove of information to view, build upon or just use at you like for your own projects.

The essay Harry Clarke’s Looking Glass is Halloween timely with its exploration into the ghoulish tone of this Irish artist. His most popular book Faust which uses many images of the artist face takes on an incredible array of stench and loathing. But don’t let me influence your judgement, check it out along with many other wonderful items on this site.

What happens when a 12,000 lb. steamroller meets up with an inked MDF board covered in linen? The members of Articulate Ink decided to find out. According to Michelle Brownridge, Articulate Ink’s co-director,  “We thought that Culture Days would be a really fantastic opportunity to do an activity like this, engage the public with printmaking in a rather in your face way,” Check out the Barb Pacholik’s coverage of Culture Days in the Leader Post out of Canada for the result.

Articulate Ink was formed in January 2010 by four graduates of the University of Regina Print Media department, It has grown and today is an artist run facility with a passion for printmaking and a consistent dedication to being involved in the community.

Ever wonder what the palette of Gauguin or Whistler looked like. Or maybe you’d like to see Pollock frozen in time as he throws paint, or look over the shoulder of Thomas Hart Benton as he takes a moment to survey the development of one his famous murals. That’s what the work of Joe Fig gives you. He’s an American artist and author best known for his paintings, sculptures, drawings and photographs that explore the creative process, the working lives of artists, and the spaces where art is made. As an artist I love to see how other artists work. It helps to calm that crazy feeling of isolation you get as an artist.

 David Hockney says, "I think the first person to draw an animal on a wall would have perhaps been watched by someone. And then, when he'd got the animal down, the person would've grunted or something, and said, 'I've seen something like that.' " This falls in line with his idea that looking and showing are as old as time.

National Public Radio, (NPR) explored Hockney’s ideas in a recent Morning Edition hosted by Susan Stamberg. The text of that show with the 80 year old artist is insightful and surprisingly straight forward. It contains great links to an upcoming documentary and information on the Tate Museum retrospective coming in early 2017. Someone send me airfare and I’ll gladly go and cover the opening.